Ancient Civilizations – Diocese of Fall River Middle School Social Studies Learning Outcomes
Grade 6
Ancient Civilizations
1. Compare information shown on modern and historical maps of the same region.
2. Use correctly the words or abbreviations for identifying time periods or dates in
historical narrative (decade, age, era, century, millennium, AD/CE, BC/BCE, c. and circa).
Identify I BC/BCE dates the higher number as indicating the older year (that is, 3000
BC/BCE is earlier than 2000 BC/BCE).
3. Construct and interpret timelines of events and civilizations studied.
4. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources and describe how each kind of
source is used in interpreting history.
5. Identify multiple case and effects when explaining historical events.
6. Describe ways of interpreting archaeological evidence from societies leaving no written
records.
7. Define and use correctly words and terms relating to government such as city-state,
dynasty, kingdom, empire, republic, separation of powers, civic duty, rule of law, military.
8. Define and apply economics concepts learned in pre-kindergarten through grade 6;
producers, consumers, goods, services, buyers, sellers, natural resources, taxes,
specialization, savings, entrepreneur, process, markets, scarcity, trade, barter, money
Human Origins in Africa through the Neolithic Age
1. Describe the great climatic and environmental changes that shaped the earth and
eventually permitted the growth of human life.
2. Identify sites in Africa where archaeologists have found evidence of the origins of
modern human beings and describe what the archaeologists found.
3. List the characteristics of the hunter – gatherer societies of the Paleolithic Age.
4. Explain the importance of the invention of metallurgy and agriculture.
5. Describe how the invention of agriculture related to the settlement, population growth,
and the emergence of civilization.
6. Examine the characteristics of civilization: the presence of geographic boundaries and
political institutions; an economy that produces food surpluses; a concentration of
population in distinct areas or cities; the existence of social classes; developed systems
of religion, learning, art, and architecture; and a system of record keeping
Mesopotamia
1. Locate on a historical map, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Identify Sumer, Babylon,
and Assyria, as successive civilizations and empires in this region. Explain why the region
is sometimes called the Fertile Crescent.
2. Identify on a modern map: Iraq, Iran, Turkey.
3. Define polytheism as the religious belief of the people in the Mesopotamian civilizations.
4. Describe how irrigation, metalsmithing, slavery, the domestication of animals, and the
inventions (the wheel, the sail, and the plow) contributed to the growth of Mesopotamian
civilization.
Ancient Civilizations – Diocese of Fall River Middle School Social Studies Learning Outcomes
5. Analyze the important achievements of Mesopotamian civilization: system of writing and
its importance in record keeping and tax collection; monumental architecture (ziggurat);
and art (large relief sculpture, mosaics, and cylinder seals.
6. Identify who Hammurabi was and explain the basic principle of justice in Hammurabi’s
Code (“an eye for an eye”).
Ancient Israel
1. Using an historical map, locate Asia Minor, Greece, Mesopotamia, and the kingdoms of:
the Hitties, the Israelites, and the Egyptians.
2. Local Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the area governed by the Palestinian
Authority, Syria, and Turkey on a modern map.
3. Identify the ancient Israelites, or Hebrews, and trace their migration from
Mesopotamia to the land called Canaan. Explain the role of Abraham and Moses in their
history.
4. Describe the monotheistic religion of the Israelites: the belief there is one God; the
Ten Commandments; the emphasis on individual worth and personal responsibility; the
belief that all people must adhere to the same moral obligations, whether ruler or ruled;
and the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as part of the history of early Israel.
5. Explain the unification of the Tribes of Israel under Kings Saul, David, and Solomon,
including David’s founding of Jerusalem as his capital city in 1000 BC and the building of
the first temple by Solomon.
6. Analyze the Diaspora after the destruction the second temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD,
and the renaming of the country by the Romans.
Phoenicia
1. Create a map of the ancient Mediterranean world. Locate Greece, Asia Minor, Crete,
Phoenicia, the Aegean Sea, and the Red Sea.
2. Locate on a modern map: Greece, Crete, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria.
3. Identify the Phoenicians as the successors to the Minoans in dominating maritime trade
in the Mediterranean from c. 1000 – 300 BC.
4. Describe how the Phoenicians writing system was the first alphabet and the precursor
of the first complete alphabet developed by the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Egypt
1. Create an historical map of the Mediterranean region. Locate the Mediterranean Sea,
the Red Sea, the Nile River Delta, and the areas of Ancient Nubia and Egypt. Identify
the locations of Ancient Upper and Lower Egypt.
2. Locate Egypt and Sudan on a modern map.
3. Analyze the kinds of evidence that have been used by archaeologists and historians to
draw conclusions about the social and economic characteristics of Ancient Nubia and
Ancient Egypt.
4. Explore the roles of the pharaoh, peasants, and slaves in Ancient Egypt.
5. Describe the polytheistic religion of Ancient Egypt with the respect to beliefs about
death, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of different deities.
Ancient Civilizations – Diocese of Fall River Middle School Social Studies Learning Outcomes
6. Summarize important achievements of Egyptian civilizations: the Egyptian agricultural
system; the invention of the calendar; monumental architecture and art such as the
pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza; hieroglyphic writings; and the invention of papyrus.
Ancient India
1. Create an historical map, locating the Ganges and Indus Rivers, Harappa and MohenjoDaro, Asoka’s empire, Hindu Kush Mountains, Kyber and Bolan Passes, Himalaya
Mountains, Indian Ocean.
2. Locate on a modern map the countries of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
and Nepal and Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Indian Ocean.
3. Explain how the winter and summer monsoons effect the region.
4. Describe the kinds of evidence that archaeologists have found that show the Indus
cities were planned.
5. Analyze how the Aryan invasion affected the societies of the Indus Valley.
6. Examine the religions of the subcontinent: Hinduism and Buddhism.
7. Explore the beginning of Buddhism, its founder and his teachings of meditation and
nonviolence, including nirvana or lasting peace.
8. Discuss the rise of the Maurya Empire in India.
Ancient China
1. Locate on a modern map: China, Mongolia, Huang He and Yangzi Rivers, North Korea,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, East China Sea, South China Sea and the Gobi Desert.
2. Explain the reasons for the isolation of the Chinese people.
3. Explain why the Huang He River was called China’s Sorrow.
4. Discuss why the family was China’s center of society.
5. Explore the early life of Confucius. Explain his philosophy and the impact it had on China.
6. Identify how China became united during the Qin Dynasty, emphasizing the role of Shu
Huangdi.
7. Describe the rise of the Han Dynasty. Compare and contrast the Han Dynasty and the
Qin Dynasty.
8. Examine the contributions of the Chinese civilization to trade, language and literature,
technology, arts, and medicine.
Ancient Greece
1. Create an historical map of the Mediterranean area. Locate Greece and trace the extent
of its influence to 300 BC.
2. Locate on a modern map: England, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, France,
Greece, Italy, Spain, Crete, Egypt, India, the Middle East, Pakistan and Turkey.
3. Explain how the geographical locations of Athens and other city-states contributed to
maritime trade, colonization, and cultural expansions.
4. Explain the democratic political concepts developed in Ancient Greece.
5. Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta.
6. Describe the status of women in Ancient Athens.
7. Describe the role of slaves in Ancient Athens.
Ancient Civilizations – Diocese of Fall River Middle School Social Studies Learning Outcomes
8. Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of the Persian Wars, including the origin
of marathons.
9. Analyze the causes and consequences of the Peloponnesian War.
10. Evaluate the rise of Alexander the Great and the spread of Greek culture.
11. Explore the myths and stories of classical Greece.
12. Explain why the city-states of Greece instituted a tradition of athletic competitions and
describe the kind of sports they featured.
13. Document the purposes and functions of the lyceum, the gymnasium, and the Library of
Alexandria.
14. Identify the major accomplishments of the Ancient Greeks: Thales; Pythagoras and
Euclid; Hippocrates; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Thucydides, Homer,
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Euripides; and the building of Parthenon, the
Acropolis, and the Temple of Apollo and the development of the first complete alphabet
with symbols for consonants and vowels.
Ancient Rome
1. Create an historical map identifying Ancient Rome and trace the extent of the Roman
Empire to 500 AD.
2. Explain how the geographic location of Rome contributed to the shaping of Roman
society and the expansion of its political power in the Mediterranean region and beyond.
3. Explore the rise of the Rome Republic and the role of mythical and historical figures in
Roman history: Romulus and Remus; Hannibal and the Carthaginian War; Cicero; Julius
Caesar and Augustus; and Hadrian.
4. Examine the government of the Roman Republic and its contribution to the development
of democratic principles.
5. Explore the influences of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from a
republic to an Empire. Explain the reasons for the growth and long life of the Roman
Empire: military organization, tactics, and conquests, and decentralized administration;
the purpose and function of taxes; the promotion of economic growth through the use of
standard currency, road construction, and the protection of trade routes; and the
benefits of a Pax Romana.
6. Describe the origins of Christianity and its central features.
7. Identify how inner and external forces ked to the disintegration of the Roman Empire.
8. Discuss the contribution of Roman civilization to law, literature, poetry, architecture,
engineering and technology.
9. Examine the spread and influence of the Roman alphabet and the Latin language.